Circle of Mistrust
by Little.Old.Lady007
Summary: Slightly future AU, set sometime after season 6. I've always wanted to see what a pregnant Beckett would be like, so I decided to write it. The story has the same feel as a castle episode: a murder to solve and some caskett. What happens when the recent case seems to hit a little too close to home? With an emotional Beckett, how will they keep this from breaking them?
1. Prologue

_I have to get of here. I can't stand these people. I… I just want to forget, forget it all, alone. Why did I talk? I should have kept my mouth shut. I should have known better._

_No, it was the right thing to do. They deserved to know the truth. They still do._

He had come to the corner pub to drown his sorrows, to get away from it, away from the mess that had become his life. It was early evening and the bar was almost empty. It was perfect. He just wanted to be alone. He signaled the bartender and ordered a beer. When that was finished, he ordered again, and again, and again. He drank until the pub started to fill, until the stools that had stood empty beside him filled with people, lots of people, chatty people.

He was an attractive man, at least the ladies seemed to think so, but he wasn't in the mood. He didn't feel like waking up tomorrow feeling no better than tonight, but in a stranger's bed. No, he had to leave.

Hurryingly leaving the establishment, he turned around to get a better look at the guy sitting a couple of meters away.

_Was he checking me out? What kind of vibes am I sending out today anyways?_

The door clanked behind him and he disappeared into the dark, noisy streets of New York City.


	2. Chapter 1

The morning sun was radiating through the window as Kate was sitting the kitchen, reading the newspaper and sipping her first cup of the day. Her husband had let her slept in, or what it meant for her to sleep in at least. He had gotten out of bed without making a sound, and prepared breakfast, leaving the sweet aroma of her favorite beverage pull her out from their bed.

She was unfocused, lost in her thoughts; she had read the article on the second page four times and still had absolutely no idea what it was about. She decided to put it down, and let the feeling of a great day to come submerse her.

Almost a year into their marriage and Castle still managed to make her feel like the most important woman in the world. Could life really get better than that?

_I really am the luckiest woman alive. What have I done to deserve this, all of this? What have I done to deserve him? _

Quickly, her thoughts shifted.

_Something's going to happen… No one is that happy, live isn't supposed to be like this, so easy, peaceful. It's just…_

Saving her from herself, the sound she knew too well resonated from their bedroom. She rushed to the phone, knowing perfectly who was on the other end of that call. When her cellphone rang before 8am, on a Sunday nonetheless, there probably was a dead body, or someone looking to be one.

"Beckett. Yes. Uh-Hum. Ok. We'll be right there."

* * *

She knocked on the bathroom door; she could hear the water running.

"Castle?" she inquired, peaking through the door.

"Yeah, come in. I'm in the shower."

As she stepped in the steamy bathroom, lust overpowered her. She loved that shower, she loved everything about it, but what she loved even more, was the man standing inside it. She could see the curves of his bare back, the outline his naked butt.

_God, my husband is hot._

Clasping her thighs and commanding all the self-control she possessed, she turned her head around and let him know, "We have to go. There's been a murder. You're going to have to hurry up in there."

"Yeah, well. We could both save some time if you jumped in here with me. We could clean each other off."

Richard Castle didn't have to turn around to know his wife had rolled her eyes at his comment, but it didn't make his words any less effective. Her clothes were dropped and not much time was saved that morning.

* * *

Kate quickly parked the Charger and the couple hastened there pace as they slammed both doors shut. They were hoping not be the last one's at the scene.

"I can't believe you agreed to morning shower sex," Castle whispered to his wife.

Beckett still gliding over the sidewalk slowed down, turned to him and said "I had to wash up before work, and you just happened to be there. You really shouldn't think anything of it, Castle." Her lips curled, betraying her tone and a smile formed as she let her shoulder gently bump into his.

* * *

"Another alley? These murderous New Yorkers really need to change it up here, making us work in this unsanitary environment, really unethical," Castle blurred out as they approached their destination. Kate lightly shook her head, at the comment of her obviously high maintenance husband as the patrolling officer lifted the yellow tape, letting the duo through to the crime scene.

Beckett crouched beside Lanie, "So what do we have?"

Lanie turning to her friend, "Well, you two certainly took your time coming here."

"Yeah, well, you know… traffic," she answered as she winked back, so only her friend could see. High-fiving the novelist on their way, Esposito and Ryan posted themselves beside the body. As Beckett's stern stare met Castle's, he slowly moved his hand, still in the air, to his hip.

_Jezz. She's so hard to follow sometimes._

Lanie, diffusing the tension that had gathered in the air, started, "The victim was bludgeoned to death. He suffered massive internal bleeding, but the final blow came to the neck. From what I gather he was severely injured when he fell to his knees. Then, his attacker finished him off with one powerful swing and broke his neck."

"Any idea what could have caused these bruising patterns?"

"I'm still working on it, but looks like a night stick. I'll know more once I get him to the lab."

"Time of death?"

"Anywhere from 8 'til midnight."

Thanking Lanie, and pushing herself up to face the boys, Kate closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to get her balance back.

Esposito was the one to point out the unnaturally long pause she seemed to be taking. "Hey, are you okay Beckett?"

"Yeah, give me a couple of seconds. I got up too fast, the sun's just…hot. Just let me get my bearings back."

The boys had time to exchange a concerned look before Beckett opened her eyes and asked, "So, who's our vic?"

Ryan took the lead, "We don't know much yet. He didn't have his wallet on him. We're waiting to hear back from Missing Persons."

* * *

Hey guys! I have a couple more Chapters written up, but as this is my first time fanfictionning, I would really like to get comments before posting them. Chapters too short? Sentences or dialogue hard to follow? A lot of grammatical errors? Story sucks? (Although give me a chance this is only the first Chapter)


	3. Chapter 2

Castle stopped for a second, staring at his wife from afar. She was sitting on her desk, legs crossed, intensely contemplating her murder board, as she always did at the beginning of investigations. Her brow was in the beginning stages of a frown as her hand passed through her hair. With a slight rotation of her head, their sights crossed and the frown led place to a gentle smile as he stirred himself in her direction.

"Pretty clean board," he commented as he handed Kate her freshly brewed coffee.

"I know. We've got nothing. Not until we can identify the vic. John Doe in his mid-twenties, bludgeoned to death between 8 and midnight yesterday. It's pretty thin, I've got no timeline, no suspects, no nothing," she acknowledged as she brought the hot beverage to her lips.

They both sat there, on her desk, silently staring at the picture of a dead man pinned on the board, their hands barely touching. Only his pinkie was over his wife's hand gently stroking it. Minutes passed before the quiescence was broken. Beckett jumped to her phone mid-ring and picked it up, acknowledging to the person on the other end. As she hung up, she grabbed her coat and led out, "Come on Castle, Lanie might have something for us down at the morgue."

* * *

They pushed through the doors with determination, entering side by side.

"Wow, you guys sure got here fast. Not like," started Lanie facetiously.

Not wanting to get into their little game right know, Beckett, giving her a stare, sternly cut her off. "Please tell me you have something to help us identify our victim Lanie."

Clearly getting the message, the tone in the examiner's voice changed when she replied tough but amiably, "His prints and DNA aren't in the system. I have something, I just really don't know if any of it is going to be helpful at this point. I'm real sorry, hon."

Commanding the duo, Lanie directed them towards the bruised naked body on her table. She lifted the victim's broken left hand and held his palm under the black light. A series of faded out numbers and letters appeared before them.

"R31-789Y6," read Beckett out loud, the interrogation in her inflection clearly transposing to her facial expression as she got silent.

"Code to a secret meeting maybe?" blurred Castle out eagerly.

Both the M.E and the detective exchanged a look of desperation which was then steered in his direction. The novelist smiled as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know what it means, but what I do know is that this code was written 4 to 5 days ago," factually replied the medical examiner.

"Thanks Lanie, anything else?" said Beckett trying not to sound too hopeful.

"His blood-alcohol levels where fairly high. He had more than a couple of beers; I'd say at least 6. His reflexes were probably impaired, making the kill that much easier."

"Okay, thanks. Call me if you find anything else, and I mean anything. We're running on fumes here."

Just before Beckett turned around to follow Castle out of the room, Lanie mouthed a "Call me" towards her friend and got a quick wink in response.

They were walking through the hallway, but Castle suddenly stopped. He grabbed Beckett's hand making her turn around to face him. His face suddenly lit up, "I think I got something."

"I'm all ears, Castle."

"Lanie just told us the guy had drank; he had drank, a lot."

"Yeah, so?"

"Yeah. So. There are only a handful of bars at a walking distance of the place where we found the body."

"What makes you say he was at a bar? He might have been a party. He might have had drinks at a friend's house. He might even have drunk alone at his place. He might have taken a cab or he might have gotten a ride. You've got nothing Castle."

"Come on Beckett, we have nothing more to go on."

"You don't know that. Maybe Esposito and Ryan got lucky with eye witnesses or canvasing the apartments surrounding the alley."

"No. They would have called and you know it. What do we have to lose?"

Beckett realising he was probably right, nodded. She got up to her tippy-toes, her gaze quickly sweeping the perimeter around them as she stole a kiss from her husband before turning around and walking away.

"Let's go then."

* * *

The door chimed as they entered the old Irish pub and it slammed behind them. It was the third bar on their list and they were both getting irritated. The bar was almost empty, no more than four people including the bartender. Every one of them drinking alone, light music was playing in the background, giving the bar a gloomy allure. They directed themselves to the colossus of a bartender. He was 6'5", 300 pounds, easy, not the kind of guy you wanted on your bad side.

Castle and Beckett sat down and were greeted by a genuine smile.

"What can I get you guys?" asked the giant politely.

"Actually, we aren't here for a drink. We're investigating a murder which happened a couple of blocks from here." She lifted the bottom of her shirt, just enough to discretely show him her badge. "I'm Detective Beckett, and this is Mr. Castle. Do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions?"

"Of course not. Anything I can do to help, detective."

"Were you the bartender on staff yesterday evening?"

"Yes, I was. Got here at 4 and stayed until closing. What happened?"

Beckett opened the folder she had been carrying, and hands the bartender a picture of the victim while declaring, "I know he's pretty banged up, but any chance you recognize this man?"

He took the picture from her hands and grimaced as he observed the image. He turned the picture over and compassionately placed it on the bar.

"This is seriously messed up. But, yeah, he was here yesterday evening. Nice kid didn't talk a lot though. He seemed to be going through some stuff, so I just let him be. He was sitting right where you are actually," he said pointing to Castle's stool.

"Oh! Oh!" said Castle, quickly leaping from the stool, and standing, focusing on straighten his shirt. He continued, trying his best to look casual, "What do you mean going through some stuff?"

"It's just a feeling, a vibe people emit. You develop this radar when you've worked in bar like this for as long as I have. He also got here around 4, alone. That's also usually a huge tell."

"So you wouldn't happen to have caught his name by any chance?" inquired the detective.

"No, but he paid with a credit card. Is any of that helpful?"

Finally, they had something they could use. Beckett let out a sigh of relief. "Yes. Thank you, Mr…?"

"Mr. Ruiz"

"Well, thank you infinitely Mr. Ruiz. You've been incredibly helpful."

"It's really no problem detective. I still can't wrap my brain around the fact I was one of the last people to see him. Poor kid. Who would do something that disgusting?"

The couple exchanged a look, biting their lips, trying not to laugh. Mr. Ruiz was such a tough looking guy, listening to him go on about how unfair life was and how inhumane that beating had been, made them chuckle. Still babbling on about right, wrong and youth, the bartender stretched out and grabbed a bottle from the top shelf. He goes on to pour three whiskies, sliding the glasses towards his public.

"To the kid!" chanted the bartender.

"No thanks. I'm good, we're on the job," replied Kate pushing the drink away, and glancing towards Castle.

"Come on Kate. It's for the kid," he proceeded at checking his watch. "It's almost 6, we'll probably be going home afterwards anyways." He winked at her as he drank his glass. He closed his eyes letting the beverage heat up his throat. "Hmmmm… Awesome whisky, dude" he let out, opening his eyes and clanking his glass with the bartender's.

"Castle, I'm on duty. I carry a gun, and it's loaded. Guns and alcohol don't mix, even you should know better than that. I'll call the precinct to update them on what we just found. We can continue our investigation in the morning. Tech will have had time to identify our vic through this credit card activity by then. And thank you again for your help Mr. Ruiz." She pulled out her phone and started dialing as she walked away.

Castle shrugged his shoulders as he said to the bartender, "Women, you can't win."

The giant laughed before saying, "You're Richard Castle, right? Man, my mom really loves your books."

**Hey guys, I'd really appreciate your input. Good comments, bad comments, constructive ones. I'll take them all. I am pretty new at this, and frankly, have no idea what I'm doing. Hope you're enjoying it though. (Next chapter will be less murdery, more casketty, I promise)**


	4. Chapter 3

With the bags filling his hands, Castle had to fiddle with the keys to open the door, trying to balance it all while pushing the door. As it closed behind him, he lowered the take-out down to his feet and swept a quick look around the loft. His glance halted at the sight of his wife, staring down blankly at him. She clearly had been waiting for him. He subtly checked his watch. Yes, he had been gone a little longer than he had intended to, but nothing to be concerned about, nothing that would cause _that_ look.

_It's late and she's probably starving, but she'll forgive me for making her wait once she sees I went the extra mile, in evening traffic nonetheless, only to get her favorite. Yes, this will surely make her smile._

Upon hearing the cracking of the door, Kate lifted her body from the couch and feigned a smile destined to comfort the man she loved. She was aware of what she must look like, staring at him that way, but Kate was too preoccupied to look convincing. She came to his meeting, stopping in front of him while placing a quick kiss on his lips.

Lifting the bags from the ground, thinking it'll make his wife's mood lighter, he enthusiastically announced, "Hey gorgeous, I got your favorite."

She gave him a jittery look, her eyes flickering. Although she was strongly trying to hide her nervousness from him, Castle could feel it radiating with all his joints. He grew concerned as he laid the bags down. Taking a step back so they could properly face each other, she grabbed his hand and said "I peed on a stick earlier."

"What?"

"I peed on a stick, Rick, _the_ stick," caressing his hand, she carefully analysed his expression, but the announcement didn't seem to register with her husband, so she went at it again, "Babe, I took a pregnancy test."

"Wait. What?"

She was starting to get annoyed now, as she let go of his hand, "God, stop saying that, just listen."

"Sorry. I mean. You just. You took me by surprise, that's all. Go on."

"Okay. I've had this gut feeling for the last couple of days. I didn't believe it when other women told me they just knew, but today… I had this impression; I can't explain it, really. So when you left earlier, I went across the street and bought a pregnancy test, just to see."

"So? Verdict?" replied Castle, all smiles, clearly realising the implications.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" It was Castle's turn to get annoyed.

"I didn't look at it."

Castle looked at his wife in disbelief, shaking his head. She had a history with evasion. She fled uncontrollable situations like the plague. Hell, she sat on his love declaration for about a year, but that was the old Kate, the Kate before him. How could she still think evading was a good option, with everything they'd been through?

She continued calmly, "It's still on the bathroom counter, where I left it earlier. After setting it there, I went to the kitchen and set the timer on the microwave. As I watched the seconds scroll down from where I was waiting, I thought; I don't want to do this alone. I don't want to find out if we're pregnant while you're out getting Chinese. You should be here when we find out, whatever the outcome. So, I just waited. For you."

Castle smiled. She had come a long way from the women she'd been when he had met her, always doing her own thing. He had worked hard to break that wall she had so craftily built, but now, clearly, he could see, she and him were in this relationship, together. They both leaned in smiling as their lips collided, her hands gently massaging the back of his head.

She slowly pulled away; keeping her eyes locked in her husband's. This could wait; they had something else to do, somewhere else to be. She leaned in again and whispered playfully, nibbling his ear, "I just didn't know it would take you _this_ long to get here."

"Hey, it was for a good cause!"

"Shall we, Ms. Castle?" he inquired, taking a step and grabbing her hand, directing it towards the bathroom.

"We shall, Mr. Castle," she replied as she determinedly pulled him towards the answer that had been troubling her for the last hour.

* * *

Both of them were standing over the counter of the dimly lit bathroom, none of them willing to take the lead even though they both desperately wanted to know. Taking a breath in, Castle went for it, "Ready?"

"Ready." She answered, clasping her hands together.

"It's positive."

"Are you sure?"

"I think I can read a damn plus sign, Kate," he said teasingly.

She looked at her husband as a grin drew itself on her face. She bit her upper lip, trying to contain it, but burst out, "Oh my god, I'm pregnant. _We're_ pregnant."

He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer. Grabbing his face, she pressed her lips on his with fierce passion making its way to the surface. He grabbed her, lifted her up and now that she was seated on the counter, proceeded on kissing the crook of her neck, her legs firmly making their way around his waist.

As he pulled away for a breath, something clearly on his mind, he asked, "Don't get me wrong Kate, I'm happy about this. I really am. But, how exactly _did_ this happen?"

"You want a quick tutorial, or the bullet points should be enough?" she answered, giving him the famously tease-y Beckett stare and going in for the kiss again with her hands uncontrollably sliding down his pants.

"I wouldn't mind the longer version of that tutorial," he winked, but as he detached himself from her grasp, he continued, "But you know what I mean."

Adjusting her posture, she went on, "Yeah, I do. I don't know Castle, I've been on the birth control shot since I was 16 and never had a "problem" before. The problem with this is: the drug works, you miss your period, the drug doesn't work, well, you also miss your period. So, I don't know."

Clearly satisfied with her feeble answer and forgetting what they had started on that counter, he beamed out, "I can't believe were having a baby. I can't -" Castle walked out of the bathroom searching for his phone buried in his pocket, leaving Beckett somewhat turned on and distraught, as she mimicked a pout. He called out more for himself than for her, "I have to call mother and Alexis. God, I can't wait to see Esposito's and Ryan's faces when you tell them."

Jumping off the counter and going on after him, she grabbed his hand, stopping him from pressing the last digits to his daughter's number, "Babe, I'd rather we keep this to ourselves, for the time being. You think you could put the Press Conference on hold?"

"What? Why?"

"Castle, I really don't want to argue with you about this. I'd like to keep this between us, at least for a little while."

Not understanding his wife's sudden change in demeanor, "I just don't get it Kate. This is good news."

"It is. But look." She inhaled loudly before continuing, "Maybe I don't want the whole precinct to whisper about how fat I'm getting or how tighter my clothes are looking. I don't want them commenting on how bad my mood swings are and how emotionally unstable I'm getting. Maybe, I don't want the 12th murmuring on how much bigger my boobs are getting. If we don't tell them, it'll be a while before they figure it out."

He understood. As much as she acted like she was one of the guys most of the time, it wasn't always easy for her in the testosterone fueled world she lived in. She could usually take the jokes, the teasing as well as the un-called for advances. She was actually the one teasing, _him,_ most of the time, but if she needed time to process the news, time to come to terms with the fact that her body and hormones were rapidly changing, it was what he would give her. He opened his arms, a sign he was acquiescing to her demand, and she smiled, walked in his arms and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his body. He held on tight as she laid her head on his chest letting his hand gently caress her back, his body gently rocking the woman he loved.

**I'm really glad some of you guys are enjoying this, I'm really enjoying writing it so win-win! And thanks for the reviews and answering my endless insecurities!**

**One more though: Too much fluff? Too little?**


	5. Chapter 4

Already at work, Detective Katherine Beckett had gotten an early start to her day. She had urged her husband out of bed before dawn, much to his dismay. When he moaned and groaned, turning back in the warmth of the blankets, she simply told him she was going, he could join her later if he wanted to. It had gotten him up. There was no way he was leaving her side while she was investigating a murder. That woman was restless. She clearly, now more than ever, had him wrapped around her little finger.

Sitting at her desk, a parade of elephants before her, she was re-reading and trying to make sense of the file Tech had compiled for her the preceding night. She enjoyed the calmness of the precinct before it filled with the clatter of everyone's routine. She used the peace to get a feel for the victim, to fill out her murder board before her boys got there. The victim was Jeremy Talbot, 24 years old. He was a third-year Columbia Law student, where the fall semester had begun a little over a week ago. He was currently living in the Hudson Heights, with two roommates: Marc Johnston and Steven Hanna. His parents, Jean and Lina, lived out of state, in Pennsylvania, which was where he was native from. His financial records showed he mostly lived off of his student loans and his parents' allowances, but he had spent his summers interning at law firms to make a little bit of spending money. It was all she had, for now.

The detective opened the marker and started filling in her bare board, trying to understand what had went wrong, how her victim would end up like that.

_Jeremy arrived at the bar around 4 according to Mr. Ruiz. His credit card activity shows he paid his tab at 8:04. Lanie told us time of death was between 8 and midnight, so he had to have been killed shortly after leaving. Actually, probably right after leaving, we found him close by._

_He was beaten to death, his wallet, cellphone were missing. So? Random mugging gone wrong? No. It couldn't have been. Right? No, it couldn't have. So… _

_This means someone had to have been following him. But why? Oh, yes! I was forgetting the series of digits Lanie showed us written down on him hand. It has to mean something. _

_What the hell did you do to deserve that Jeremy?_

The sound of his body falling lump on the chair had startled her, snapping her back to the reality of the precinct and away from her countless interrogations. Inhaling, she became aware of the coffee he had set beside her.

_That sweet, sweet smell of-_

"Castle, what the hell? Put that away. I can't-" she hushed out.

Pulling the weight of his limbs, he lightly kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear, "I brought some decaf from home. If you don't want people to know," arching his brow, his eyes shifted to her abdomen, "maybe skipping out on coffee isn't the best way to keep suspicions away."

"My husband, he's so smart sometimes," she went, crinkling her nose and cracking a smile.

"And ruggedly handsome, don't you forget it. I also did a little research this morning-"

_Of course you did._

"Since coffee's highly diuretic, and I don't want anyone getting dehydrated, I also brought you a bottle of water. Drink it." as he pulled it out from his jacket pocket and set it beside the steaming cup. "For the baby," he mouthed while nodding his head.

_Oh, this is going to be a challenging 9 months._

* * *

Maybe coffee, water and pregnancy wasn't such a good combination as Beckett came out of the bathroom stall for the second time since she had gotten to work, an hour ago. She stepped in front of the mirror, examining the image before her, tugging lightly on her blouse.

_This shirt definitely makes me look fat. _

_Wait. Does this shirt make me look pregnant? I bet everybody's gonna know._

_Great, now I'm getting paranoid._

_No, seriously I wasn't this fat yesterday._

_What the hell is happening with me?_

_You're pregnant Kate, that's what's happening. Get used to it._

_I'm sure I didn't look this big yesterday. God, it's only going to get worse from here._

With a slight glance to the door, she swiftly brought up her shirt mesmerized by her exposed mid-section.

_I should really call my doctor._

_How far along could I be? Hmmm…_

_Yup. I'm going to call him._

_Today._

Satisfied with herself, she nodded at her reflection, straightening up her blouse before washing up and retreating from the room.

She could hear them bickering from the hallway. Esposito and Ryan had arrived and were keeping her partner company by her desk. As she brushed past them, none of them acknowledged her arrival. Clearly, she would be interrupting a very heated discussion between her men. Not really caring, the mundane nature of their conversation not getting her attention, _at all_, she interrupted, "Ok guys, murder here. Focus," as she tapped her fingers on the freshly filled out murder board.

Now that she had commended their attention, all eyes were focused on her. "Nice board, Beckett," commented Ryan.

Not wasting any time and getting down to business, she declared, "This is what we have so far. It's still pretty thin, but at least it's a start. The files on the victim are on your desks. Read them."

"Did we notify next of kin?"

"His parents are from out of state, they're driving up as we speak."

"No suspects?"

"None yet. We still don't know much about this kid. Busy day a head guys, buckle up. Castle and I will go talk with the roommates. You and Ryan can stay here and interview the parents. They should be getting here shortly."

And just like that, everyone had something to do.

* * *

Thump. Thump. Thump.

They waited, but could hear no movements on the other side of the poorly insulated wall.

She tried again, a little louder this time. Thump. Thump. Thump. "NYPD. Open the door, please."

The door slowly opened as the tenant looked at them with half shut eyes.

"You gotta leave me wake up and get up before I can come open the door. Do you know how early it still is?" the young man said, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm detective Beckett and this is Richard Castle. We're here about Jeremy Talbot. Can we come in?"

He motioned them to come in, still obviously waking up, and led them to a surprisingly tidy living room. As they seated themselves, Beckett pulled out her notepad. The man who had led them in introduced himself as Marc; he excused himself and quickly went out to wake up his roommate. After gently breaking the news of Jeremy's death to the young men, Beckett and Castle left them a moment before going on with their investigation. Understandably, they were both pretty shaken up by the news.

After sitting with the roommates for a little less than 2 hours, the partners now had a clearer idea of what their victim's life had been like. The three roommates knew each other from back home. Jeremy had a pretty heavy course load and spent most of his time at the library and at Columbia following the start of the school year. They couldn't actually recall his exact schedule, but he was hardly ever home, not unusual for him during semesters. When asked about any abrupt changes in his behavior in the past weeks, all they could recall was that about a week ago, he and his long term girlfriend had broken up.

"He broke up with his girlfriend last week."

"Any idea why?" inquired the writer.

"The only explanation we got, was that she was a _crazy bitch_. Shit. You don't think she killed him do you?" exclaimed Steven, jumping up.

Motioning him to sit back down, Detective Beckett continued, "We're pursuing every lead at the moment, but I am going to need a name."

"Celeste Reynolds. She works at the café on the corner of 181st and Pinehurst, it's where they met," Marc informed them as he pulled out his phone and showed the detective a picture, "That's them."

_Cute couple. They look happy and very much in love, the way they look at each other. Just wow. They had no idea in the world, thought it would last forever. It's sad. What happened to them?_

"Marc, when was that picture taken?" said Beckett, trying to make sense of it.

"Hmm… Dunno, about a month ago, I guess. Why?"

"And was there any bad blood between them, that you know of?"

"I don't think so, but a couple of weeks ago, maybe two-three at the most, she started calling me regularly. She kept wanting to know where Jer was, why he wasn't answering her calls or texts."

"She assumed he was cheating, I bet?" asked Castle, looking over at Beckett.

"Maybe, but he just worked a lot," factually answered Marc, not convinced.

"You know how it is. The intern's every asshole's bitch," promptly added Steven.

Giving his friend a 'watch-your-language-around-the-lady' stare, Marc continued, "No, it wasn't like that. Jer loved his job. But, yeah, they were working him pretty hard the last couple weeks."

"Ok," as she continued scribbling down all the information they were giving her. "Do you guys, by any chance, know what he was doing alone in a bar, yesterday afternoon?"

"I was at my girlfriend's yesterday so I didn't see him. So, I don't know, but it's not like him that's for sure," answered Steven.

All eyes now shifted to the other roommate, waiting to hear his statement. "I didn't speak to him either. I was still in bed when he left. I heard him leave at around 10, maybe. I just assumed he was going to school." He paused, thinking, and with a tremble in his voice continued his assessment, "But, actually. When I left for school myself, I realised his car was gone. It's pretty unusual, he doesn't take his car to the city, with parking and traffic, you know? We all usually just take the subway. He only uses his car when he visits his family in New Hope. So, yeah, that was weird."

* * *

Having verified their whereabouts on the night of the murder, more for procedure than because they were suspected, the detective and the novelist thanked the boys for their help and left. They were now sitting in the car, silence enclosing on them.

"What's on your mind?" inquired the writer.

"I think we should pay Celeste a visit."

"You really think she could have done it, did you get a good look at her? Shouldn't we be pursuing the car lead? As mad as she was, there is no way this dainty girl would have had the upper body strength to beat him up like he was."

She smiled.

_No but, someone who cared about her could have._

She recalled Ryan and Esposito's attitude towards him when he had come back to precinct after breaking her heart and vacationing in the Hamptons with his ex-wife. Not that she had needed the protection, but it had been nice to know the guys had her back, and it had been funny as hell watching him squirm. They wouldn't have murdered him. They probably wouldn't have. She smiled again; Ryan had come dangerously close to shooting him that time. Maybe, Celeste also had friends as dedicated as them in her life.

Lighting the ignition, the car roaring, she stated, "Maybe, but something definitely happened between them and I want to know what."

* * *

**Ok guy, hope you enjoy this one as well! Included a lot of 'in the mind of Katerine Beckett', tell me if you like or not. **

**I'm going for believable, so if anything clashes please let me know :)**


	6. Chapter 5

Still parked in the Heights, the sound of Detective Esposito's voice echoed inside the car, as he brought his partners up to speed on their uncovering at the 12th, "His parents hadn't seen him for at least 5 weeks. He'd usually come visit every 2-3 weeks, but he'd been really busy lately. They've talked with him over the phone almost every week, since he moved to the city, but they don't recall him mentioning anything or anyone that could help us with this investigation. From what I can tell, they seemed pretty close."

"So, there is no way he would have driven up to his hometown yesterday, then," stated the detective, perplexed.

"Not without them knowing about it, no."

"We're going to need to find that car, find out what he was up to, the day he died. Espo, could you put out an ABP?"

They could hear Ryan in the background, yelling towards the interrupter, "Already on it!" which made both occupants of the car crack a smile.

"How about the numbers and letters that were written on his hand, did they have any idea to what they might have meant?"

"Nope."

Castle, offering his insight, added, "I have a feeling no one we interview is going to recognize these digits, Beckett. When numbers have a meaning, you don't need to write them down in your hand, you just remember them. If it were me, I'd write something in my hand that's random and that I don't want to forget. Then, when I would need those numbers again later, I could easily refer to them."

Agreeing with her husband with a nod, she continued, "We're clearly missing something here, guys. Jeremy seemed like the normal academic, with a normal family, friends and a seemingly healthy social life. But the last few weeks of his life just don't add up. We can't seem to find anyone in his entourage who's been involved with him lately. His internship ended 2 weeks ago. He hasn't been showing up for class. His roommates hardly ever saw him around. He broke up with his girlfriend and he hadn't seen his parents in over a month. How was he spending all that time? And most importantly, with whom?"

Castle opened his mouth and excitingly lifted his hand, about to deliver one of his ninja mobster spy theories, but the severe look Beckett shot him made him close his mouth without even uttering the first syllable of his brilliantly crafted idea.

_Okay, Okay. Not the time, I get it. I'm in the car with overly serious Beckett right now. _

He modeled an overdramatic pout, making her smile in a light-heartedly discouraged way as they shared a look of connivance. As her teeth glistened under the afternoon's sun, the rays bouncing off the ivory color in her mouth, he forgot where he was, who he was. It was hard to believe she still had that power over him, after all this time. Lost, all he could think about was what he wouldn't say for this woman to smile, what he wouldn't do for those playful green eyes to steer, even only for an instant, towards him.

Back in the car, Esposito, on the other end of the call, delivered something Beckett could sanction, "Ryan and I could go through his financials again. Maybe we missed something, a clue that could lead us to where he was going every day. We're also combing through his phone records, to see it there were any new people in his life. Nothing popped up yet."

"Great. Castle and I will go talk with the ex, she works at a Café just around the corner, maybe we'll get lucky and she'll be there. We'll see you guys later," and with that she hung up, shifting into first.

* * *

They could feel the frenzy of the back to work rush in the overcrowded sidewalks as they hushed through the heavy glass doors. The overwhelming odor of grounded coffee beans made Beckett halt, closing her eyes, breathing everything in. They were taken aback by the flow of people hurrying in and out of the establishment, getting their caffeine fix before heading back to the office. On his cellphone, a man, fashioning an expensive suit, precipitated towards the detective, clearly not paying attention. Bumping into her, he made her stumble a few steps back.

Steadying her with the unfaltering pressure of his hand under her elbow, Castle caught a glimpse of the guy's profile and connected, for a second, with his threatening eyes. With a stern 'Hey!' he turned around to follow the guy. Back outside, he turned his head in every direction, and again, but could not locate the prick. Pricks seemingly possessed the ability to vanish into thin air and avoiding confrontation.

Mitigating a situation she believed had been blown way out of proportion by the man at her side, Beckett said, "Come on, Castle. It was an accident, its fine. I'm a big girl, I can protect myself," tugging her husband back inside.

"You're really not that big, Beckett," he proceeded into dramatically checking her from top to bottom, grabbing her hand and making her spin. Upon his observations, he continued "Actually, maybe even a little scrawny. There's no denying, you need me."

They both knew Beckett needed no one stepping up to protect her. The corners of her mouth seemed to form a smile as she, just for a second, let the side of her head bump his shoulder. Just to annoy her, he grabbed her by the waist closing the meagre distance between them, supporting her as they continued walking. She loosened herself from his grip only as they approached the manager and introduced themselves.

They were now seated at a corner table, adjacent to the window, waiting for Celeste to show up. The manager had told them her shift started in 45 minutes and they had taken the decision to wait for her.

Castle was grateful for the out of precinct lunch they were having, happy to have his hand gently rubbing her back as her head was slightly tilted on his chest, her head following the movements of his breathing. This was the kind of behaviour she deemed unprofessional at the workplace. None of them were talking, no words were needed. He was completely content just to feel her, look at her, observing her, the smooth outline of her jaw, the flicker of her eyelashes.

Kate would never admit it openly, but she too, needed that little time they were having to themselves. She couldn't say if it was the hormones already messing with her ability to objectively do her work, but there was something about this week, this day, this case. It wasn't something she could explain, not even to him, not when she didn't even understand it herself. It was something she just quite couldn't put her finger on. Something buried deep, deep down, clawing to re-surface.

Her eyes barely shifted, just enough to catch his and she smiled.

He thought, "Dammit. Busted."

"Castle, I know I should be used to it by now, but you're staring and it's still creepy."

"I can't help it, Kate," as he lightly kissed her forehead.

She smiled, slightly nodding her head. He always knew exactly what to say.

"I can't. You're just so glowingly beau-."

"It's her, Castle," she went, straightening up. The detective hurried to her meeting, her partner quickly following pace behind her.

They were now talking to her, or trying to at least. They were trying to understand the muffled sounds she was making between her tearful outbursts. Kate had tried to break the news gently, she usually was better at this, could read people better, but when she had transparently told the young women her ex-boyfriend had been murdered, the passionate reaction she had gotten was unexpected. They were both trying to give her time, to help gather up the strength to answer their questions, but they didn't have all day. Pushing but not too hard would have to be the way detective Beckett would set up this interrogation.

"Hey, Celeste," as she gently put her hand over the women's, "I know this is going to be difficult, but I would really like to as you a few questions. I really need your help, with this, to bring whoever did this to Jeremy to justice." Half-way through that statement, she had decided she wasn't above emotional manipulation.

The frail blond nodded, her eyes still watering.

"When was the last time you saw Jeremy, Celeste?"

"Last Tuesday," she sighed, "When we broke.-" And the waterworks started again, more vehemently this time, "I was really, really mean. I just. I wish I could take some of it back, you know."

"It's okay, sweetie. I'm sure he knows that now," her hands now holding both of the girl's. She had surprised herself over how fast her tone had changed. Celeste remained a suspect, after all. Castle, sensing his wife's fragile emotional strength, subtly squeezed her thigh and he felt the emotions contained.

"Maybe… Maybe I overreacted, but when he told me he was spending his time with this woman from work, I lost it a little. I mean, I would hardly get to see him, and now, he tells me there's this woman from work who needs his _help_? He wanted to explain. I should have given him a chance. But… I… I just slapped him, told him it was over and stormed out."

Kate's gut told her it wasn't her, but she would need to check out her alibi anyways, she had been doped before, and there was no way she was going to be the sucker again.

* * *

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened as Beckett and Castle stepped on to the fifteenth floor of the sky rise, directing themselves towards the receptionist, sitting under the label that read Sullivan, Quinn & Associates.

"We need to speak with Mr. Quinn, please."

"He asked not to be disturbed, do you have an appointment?" the secretary asks, as searches trough the filled out logbook.

"No," she said as she showed the lady the badge clipped to the pad she was carrying.

Changing attitude, she answered, dialing, "He'll be with you in a minute."

They entered the oval shaped office. It was giving out a presidential vibe. Looking around and directing themselves towards the massive oak desk, they were both thinking the exact same thing.

_This guy was going to be a piece of work._

The man got up, shaking both their hands and motioning them to the empty chairs in front of him. The lawyer was surprisingly compliant, proving that not every lawyer in New York City was a shark.

"Jeremy Talbot, you know him?" she asked, showing him a picture.

"Yes, he interned here, this summer, but I didn't really _know_ him if that's what you're asking. He was a colleague, but this is a big firm. Lots of people."

"Anyone he was particularly close with."

"I really couldn't tell you, I wasn't the one to work with him on a daily basis."

"But you were his boss?"

"I'm everyone's boss, detective."

"What exactly was his involvement in the firm? Who was he working with then?"

"He was part of the team reviewing the pro-bono demands."

"Review?"

"We get thousands of demands each year, detective. We can't take them all, we can't even go through them all. Mr. Talbot was part of the selection committee. Based on certain criterions, they'd considerably reduce the pile. He'd then present us with some suggestions."

"What criterions?" said Castle intrigued.

"Mostly basic stuff. A correlation between the amount of workload needed, the chances of winning and the amount of publicity it would generate. "

"And what changed during his last 2-3 weeks of employment?"

"Nothing that I know of."

"His friends and family, say he'd been working longer hours, he'd been more stressed."

"He didn't clock any more hours here, we have strict policies on the amount of workload handed to the interns. I can tell you that, he actually asked me for a couple afternoons off during his last week."

"What for?"

"Personal reasons, he told me. He needed to drive upstate to see his parents."

Now both the writer and the detective were intrigued, "So he got his vacation?"

"I would hardly call it a vacation detective, but yes, he had worked well all summer, I didn't see the harm to refuse."

"Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Quinn, this will be all." She handed over a card, visibly annoyed by her lack of leads. "If you think of anything else, would you please call me?"

* * *

**I kind of stalled with this Chapter, 'cause I'm not completely satisfied with it. But here it is anyways. I was kind of tired of erasing it and re-writing, because I'm anxious to get writing the next few chapters, the fun really starts! :) Sorry if its not real good!**


	7. Chapter 6

The events of the day had drained out the detective's energy reserves. Throwing her coat on the chair, not even bothering to unburden her feet from their captors, she let herself fall lifelessly on the couch. Kate let out a sigh, "It feels like we've been running around all day." Her head resting on the back of the couch, her eyes were slowly closing, her breathing loud and uneven, "In damn circles."

Without a word, Castle sat down beside her. Grabbing her by the calves, he pivoted her so she'd be lying on her back, her head resting on the couch arm, opposite to him. She watched him, with her feet pressed on his thighs, as he slowly removed her shoes and gently started massaging her feet, his thumb firmly pressing circles under the sole of her feet. She let her eyes close once more and moaned, leading her husband to say, "Maybe you should look into lowering those heels."

She lifted her head, half sitting, pressed on her elbows; he could see the annoyance in her glare, "Are you going to be like this for the whole 9 months, Castle?"

"Yes. Yes I will," he said, a big grin molding his face.

She was shaking her head, her lips barely forming a smile. She had anticipated the response. She didn't need to ask, she knew he would be like this. It was one of the things she that had made her fall in love with him in the first place, his almost childish way of jumping into every situation at 1000mph. Despite her trying to play it tough, she was enjoyed having him worry about her, _actually their_, well-being. If she let him know this though, she knew he would be all over her case, _all the time_, and she couldn't let that happen. If that were to happen, she knew it wouldn't be long before his cute, boyish enthusiasm would truly start to annoy her and they both wouldn't want that.

"Castle, I'm barely pregnant, probably a couple of weeks, not physically impaired. I can still walk and run in those heels just fine. I've been doing it for a very long time."

"We'll see about that, Kate. You just wait."

She was now fashioning a full on grin, and with the roll of the eyes he found so damn cute, she lifted herself up. Repositioning herself on him, his waist was caught between her thighs. She kissed him lightly. As she tried pulling away, he grabbed her, his hand cupping the back of her neck, tugging her towards him. He kissed her, playfully biting the bottom of her lip, his fingers wandering over the curves of her body. She kissed him back, hot and passionate, her hands gently tugging the back of his hair.

Only seconds later, she pulled away with their eyes remaining locked in each other's. She smiled, biting her lower lip, her devious eyes still playful. Unlocking her legs from his waist, she fell back down on the couch saying, "You weren't even close to being done here, Mr. Castle," as she motioned her feet towards him. "You don't start something you can't finish."

He grumbled and grinned, "This goes for you too, Ms. Castle."

* * *

Opening his eyes lightly, he tried adjusting to the glow coming from the side. With a rasping voice, he said "Kate, what are you doing?" with a quick glance at the alarm clock, he continued with a yawn, "It's almost 3 in the morning."

"Couldn't sleep," she answered he eyes locked on the screen atop her lap.

"I know of something that usually gets you to sleep…" he says as he scooched closer. His eyes fell on the computer's screen. "Are you snooping around pregnancy forums?" he said, playfully grinning. "My… Detective Beckett, you've gotten soft."

The comment got her to look at him, but only for a second, her eyes were back on the screen when she responded, "Shut up, Castle. I'm educating myself. You did. Nothing to it." Her answer was austere and harsh. He hadn't thought he would be hitting a nerve, but apparently he had and the man had no idea why.

He stopped talking, positioning himself on his side to face her as she purposefully continued to avoid his stare. He waited, his fingers smoothly running up and down on her forearm. After a couple of minutes of trying not to break her stare, she stops "reading" and lets her eyes wander towards him. Silently, she gave him a forced smile.

"So Kate, what's really up? You were practically snoring on the couch earlier, so don't even try to tell me you're not exhausted. Isn't it a little early for this pregnancy to freak you out to the point you can't sleep?"

"I don't know, Castle."

"You know you can tell me anything, everything, Kate. Always."

"Please. Jus-" she started, as her stare wandered away from his.

"Hey…" his hand was now gently stroking the side of her cheek, his thumb forcing her to face him.

"I'd tell you if I knew, I swear, it's just…" her eyes were teary, but she was trying hard to contain them, "Okay, yes, I'm exhausted, this case, it's exhausting. This day is exhausting. I feel like my brain is in overdrive and I can't shut it off. My every free thought wanders to it, except when I started reading this."

He was listening, without comment or playful repartee, waiting for her to continue. And when she finally looked down back at him, _actually looked_, she couldn't remember why she had snapped at him. How could she feel heavyhearted when those amazing blue eyes were looking at her with tenderness and wonder? Why would she feel burdened when the man at her side, the man who had vowed to love her always, was breathing in her every word? Even though she couldn't explain what was happening, why she was suddenly feeling like she was incapable of rightfully doing the job she had chosen all those years ago, the job she still loved doing, there was no reason this amazing human being should suffer.

She leaned in for a kiss, her face seemed to start to form a smile. Trying to lighten the mood, she said "And not to mention all the time we lose when I have to pee 20 times a day. I bet we'd already have cracked this one wide open, and I would be asleep right now." His hand wrapped around her waist as he pulled her closer towards him, their tongues moving in unison.

The phone chose that moment to start ringing. And both shared a thought.

_That damn phone!_

Kate leaned over to the nightstand and answered her phone, rolling off him and sitting up.

"Beckett. No it's fine. We weren't sleeping. Shut up and tell me why you're calling Ryan." She listens. "Ok we'll see you guys in the morning."

When she hung up, Castle looked at her, waiting for her to give him the follow-up.

"They found Jeremy's car under a pass way. Ryan and Esposito are with forensics team right now, they'll have a report done tomorrow morning."

Kate let her head fall back on the pillow. She didn't react when she felt her husband take the computer from her lap and set it on his nightstand. As he repositioned himself in the bed, she grabbed his arm and placed it around her waist pulling him closer. Only when she could feel his chest onto her back did she let those eyes of hers close.

His fingers were gently caressing her abdomen, his face buried in her long curly hair, breathing in her scent. He waited. Only once he could finally make out the regular rhythm of breaths coming from the women he was holding onto, once he was certain she had finally fallen asleep, did he let himself fall back into the darkness.

* * *

Their hands let go of each other's when the precinct elevator doors dinged. As the overfamiliar sound of her office line echoed back to her ears, Beckett started running towards her work station. She jumped over her desk, picking up the phone and answering out of breath.

"Detective Beckett."

When she hung up, the astounded expression her features were forming had Castle more than intrigued. Sitting at their respective chairs, the detective went on explaining to her partner the phone call she had just terminated.

"Wow. I believe we have a lead."

Castle leaned in closer, an elbow pressed on the desk, his chin in his hand.

She continued, "That was Mr. Quinn of Sullivan, Quinn & Associates. Apparently, he was really turned upside down when we left his office yesterday. Jeremey Talbot was on his mind all evening and most of the night. He thought about something, something big. He thought he should let us know." She paused, widening her eyes. "It's really big." She smirked looking at the dramatic wide-eyed expression she was receiving from her partner.

"Women, stop playing me and just tell me what he said."

"Ha. Yeah, you're so easy, Castle. So, a couple of weeks back Jeremy brought a case to his attention. Mr. Quinn said he remembered Jeremy reacting quite intensely when he had told him a case like this would require too big a workload for a pro-bono case. It was very atypical for him to react like this. I don't know how something like this could have slipped his mind, though. Maybe death is new to him and he really was overwhelmed by the death of someone he had known."

"And? What's the case? Or do we need a warrant?"

"No client lawyer privilege here. He's sending me a digital copy of the demand as we speak."

"That was easy."

The computer sang, dictating the arrival of a new message in the detective's inbox. The sound caused the writer jump out of his seat. Castle was so close to her, she could feel the warmth of his cheek radiating towards hers, a couple of inches away. She quickly turned her head and pecked him on the cheek, surprising him enough that he backed away a shocked expression on his face. She grinned as she opened the file.

The file she opened was a demand for a pro-bono trial from Sandra Matterson. Her address was listed in Concord Valley. Just as Beckett was about to press print, the rest of her team arrived looking thoroughly exhausted. Castle and Beckett exchanged a look; they had rarely seen these two as tired as they were right this instant.

When they stopped their course in front of Beckett's desk and blinked a few times, their eyes staying shut far too long for it to look natural. "Do you guys want me to make some coffee? Espressos maybe?" Castle asked, looking at Beckett for approval.

The small eyes of the detectives seemed to flinch at the idea of caffeine running through their veins. Ryan led out a powerful yawn, nodding, but Esposito was the one to answer, "That'd be awesome, bro, but we have something to show you guys, first."

Ryan took a sample bag from his pocket and held it out to Beckett and Castle.

"We found something in his car that might help us. It's a diner receipt dated from the day he died."

"Let me guess. It's in Concord Valley."

Ryan and Esposito's expression shifted from sleep-deprived to intrigued. As Ryan furrowed his brow, he asked, "How did you know?"

* * *

**I apologize for the slow updates. But once a week, ain't that bad right? Anyhow, finally found the time to sit down and write in this hectic race against time that is my life at the moment.**

**Wanted to thank everyone who takes the time to review, I absolutely love reading your opinions. Please don't stop, and please don't be shy! Also, thank you for the favs and follows, they really warm my heart!**

**Hope you liked this one!**


	8. Chapter 7

Silently sitting at their respective desks, the three detectives and the writer were going through their individual copies of the file. Castle and Beckett were skimming, quickly turning the pages of the thin stack of papers. Pulling her head up, Kate's eyes caught a glimpse of Ryan and Esposito in front of her, she wasn't too sure what they were doing, but they definitely weren't being productive. The detectives were gazing at the papers in their hands, widening and shrinking their eyes, hoping the movement would be enough to keep them open.

She smiled at the view and lightly squeezed her partner's forearm that lay on the desk. She motioned her glare towards the boys, tilting her head in their direction, as she arched her eyebrows gleefully. Both of them smirked as she asked light-heartedly, "Do you think this will be us? Not sure I'm ready for this."

"Probably, but they're drama queens. There's no way they are that tired."

He smiled at her and positioned his hand over hers gently squeezing it. She nodded as she let their finger intertwine, her thumb slowly stroking his hand, and without a word they both went back to their reading.

The demand had been filed out by Sandra Matterson. She was a resident of Concord Valley and was asking for the help of Sullivan, Quinn & Associates to bring her town to justice. GRSB Technologies, a company that had settled up in their neighbourhood a little over 50 years ago had been dumping toxic waste into the environment and people were getting sick. The groundwater surely had been contaminated and the rate of brain cancer, in her little part of the world, was astronomical. The heartfelt letter had brought Kate's eyes to water. She bit the interior of her lip as she motioned her eyes upwards hoping it would contain the tears. She closed the folder as she read the last lines of the letter. "I can't stand the suffering, the hurt, the tears. Everyone around here is wretched. I just want to make it right again."

"Espo?" she called and his head jerked up. "I need you to find me everything you can on GRSB Technologies."

* * *

The new details of the case had been skillfully filled out on the organized murder board. Castle was positioned in front of the board, his fingers under his chin. He had been silenced by his partner who needed to finish filling out the appropriate forms before they could head out and continue the investigation.

He turned his head as he heard the phone ring and he saw her answer the phone. He watched with consideration as she engaged with the person on the other side of the line. When she had hung up, he approached her and she let him in the loop.

"It was Marc Johnston, their apartment was ransacked when they were out. Jeremy's room was trashed."

Castle didn't answer; he turned his head around and looked at the board.

"Castle? Earth to Castle," she went as she arched her eyebrows incredulous.

"Yeah?" He turned around and smiled, "This is looking more and more like a conspiracy. The digits on Jeremy's hand. It's a file number. It's so clear now. Do you think he went somewhere and took the hard copy of a case file and got killed for it?"

"Yeah, probably, Castle," she said sarcastically.

"Come on, Beckett. It makes perfect sense. He got too close to the truth and he was killed for it."

Just as she was about to answer, Detective Ryan came out of the break room and directed himself towards her desk, juggling with cups of freshly brewed coffee. He clumsily deposited the four cups, and as they smashed together the creamy liquid spilled lightly on the Kate's desk. She shot him a look as he tried wiping it away and he smiled pushing one towards her, "Want some?"

"No, it's fine." She answered quickly, even though she could feel the effect of her caffeine withdrawal pounding in her skull. "Ryan, Esposito, I just had a call. Their apartment was broken into. I need you guys to go to Jeremy's, see what's up with that. Take statements, talk to witnesses, we need something. Castle and I will go up to Concord Valley meet with Ms. Matterson. I'll call you guys on our way back so we can catch up."

The boys sighed as they eyed the cups of coffee, filled to the rim. They each drank a big gulp before setting them back. Seeing their sorry expressions, she added with a smile, "And go take a nap for god's sake, you guys look pitiful!"

She grabbed her jacket, pulled it over her shoulders and Castle excitedly beamed out, "Road trip!" as he hurried after her.

* * *

They had gotten on the highway fairly quickly, given the traffic that usually prevailed in downtown New York City. Kate turned her head, verifying her blind spot, before switching into the fast lane, pressing on the accelerator while staring ahead.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive? You didn't get much sleep yesterday," asked her husband, concerned.

"It's fine, Rick," she said as she put the visor down, the sun directly in her eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Castle, I said it's fine," she answered dryly.

He looks at her wounded with hurt puppy eyes and his bottom lip creating a pout.

Realising how she had sounded, she tried to make it up. "I'm sorry, babe. I'm a little on edge lately. It's not your fault," she said as she set a hand at the back of his neck gently stroking his hair. She smiled at him, slightly rotating her face towards him, she continued, "Hey?"

He looks at her, silently, his eyes still hurt but a small smile on his lips.

"I love you," she says and their eyes meet, only for a second.

"I love you too, Kate," he added as he took the hand she had on his neck and lightly kissed it.

They drove in silence for a moment, her hand still on his thigh, caressing it tenderly and squeezing it from time to time.

The moment was broken when he moved, pulling his body forward and trying to change the channel on the radio. She brushed his hand away from the radio. "Nahan, Castle. I drive. I choose the music. Road trip rules."

"So not fair," he complained but a grin on his face proved he was joking.

As she motioned the car towards the next exit, he looks at his watch and asked surprised, "Are we there already?"

"No."

He arches an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"I have to pee."

"Seriously?"

She gives him the look, _The Look, _and he regrets having blurred out the question.

"Let's pretend I didn't ask."

"Yeah, lets," she said with a wry smile.

Parking the car in the first fast food joint she crossed, she hurried out of the car, grumbling "This kid is probably the size of a grape right now, and he's already dictating my life. Takes after you." She winked at him and bent in to steel a kiss before rushing away.

He leaned back in the seat, stretching his arms before placing his hands under his neck and smiled.

_God, I love my life._

* * *

**This pro-bono demand was inspired by a real class-action suit that was filed, but most of it, of course, is fiction.**

**Any thoughts? Short chapter, I know. Hope you still enjoyed.**


	9. Chapter 8

As they got out of the car, the autumnal wind away from the city was colder than they anticipated and it made them tighten their grasp on their coats. The detective contoured the car, trying to pat down the unruly curls flying in every direction.

Closing the passenger door with force and smiling at her and as she reached his side, Rick blatantly told her, "Don't worry, you look fine."

She looked at him, a quizzical expression in her brow and a comical pout on her lips.

His smile grew, "I take that back. You look absolutely, stunningly, beautiful, like always, Kate," and he stretched his arm over her shoulder and brought her closer to him. His arms criss-crossed in her back, his hands placed on the curve of her hips as he pulled her in a warm embrace.

Her head fell in the crook of his neck and she murmured in his ear, "We're at work Castle," but she didn't pull back, content at letting his overpowering cologne fill her nostrils for a few seconds and he gently kissed that forehead of hers.

She pulled back with the teasing expression in her eyes and a smile directed at him, "Well, I'm at work. I have no idea what you're doing here." She turned around and made her way towards the house.

"You'll pay for that comment, Katherine Beckett. You _know_ why I'm here," he shot back and he slapped her ass while catching up to her.

She stopped, shot him an outrageous look, her mouth forming an O. "Castle!" she hissed looking around to make sure no one had seen and he smiled, content he had gotten the reaction he had wanted out of her.

"What can I do? You've got a nice bum," he answered playfully.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she turned her back on him, her hands strategically placed at her behind. "I'm going to have to make you wait in the car if you don't think you can control yourself Mister Writer-Boy."

"Man, writer-man," he mumbled under his breath, following her to the entrance.

Straitening her hair once more and shooting her husband a look that meant 'control yourself writer-boy', Kate firmly knocked on the door of the little country house. They waited both erect on the porch, the chilled wind making them shiver. Just as she was about to give it another try, her fist in mid-air, the door slowly opened. A small woman in her early 30s was smiling at them timidly through the crack in the doorway. Looking at them, a confused expression transmitting through her tired eyes and with her voice barely a whisper, she asked, "Yes?"

"Are you Mrs. Matterson?" the detective asked politely.

"Yes."

"Hi, I am Detective Kate Beckett, this is Richard Castle. We would like to ask you a few questions. Is it okay if we come in for few minutes?"

They both could see the woman was uncomfortable. Her expression had changed and she became fidgety as she unknowingly played with her fingers. A couple of seconds later, forcing a smile, she answered still whispering, "Sure. Can we just keep the volume on the low side? My son is napping, it took me forever to put him down and this is a really old house."

They both nodded silently as they entered the house. The women did a perimeter sweep with her eyes before closing the door shut and locking it behind them. The wooden floors cracking under their weight, they followed her lead towards the kitchen at the back of the house. She motioned them to sit down at the small, round, wooden table. Still up, Sandra moved towards the cupboard asking politely, "Do you guys want anything? Something to drink?"

"Just water would be fine," was the answer both the writer and the detective gave.

As the woman pulled on the refrigerator door, her eyes searching for a moment, she affirmed "I don't have any more of the bottled kind and I wouldn't recommend the one from the tap. Juice, maybe?"

She sat down and set three glasses of orange juice on the table, "So, now that I've conveniently performed my hostess duty. May I ask what is this regarding, detective?"

Kate opened her mouth to answer but her thoughts were sidetracked when her gaze caught a little boy in his pyjamas. He was carrying a stuffed puppy in one arm and was using his other hand to rub his eyes as he entered the kitchen. She suddenly felt guilty; she shouldn't have knocked so loudly. She smiled at him genuinely but was struck by his pale skin and hairless skull. Her heart sank at the view. She bit the interior of her lip and tried not to stare as she watched the little boy walk towards his mother.

"Hey bud, what are you doing up?" his mother asked.

He didn't answer. His thumb in his mouth, he approached his mother and she picked him up and sat him on her lap. He watched the intruders in his kitchen as his head laid on his mother's chest without breaking eye contact. "Victor, this is Kate and Richard." They smiled at the boy and motioned a 'Hello' with their hands. "They are with the police. Mommy's going to talk with them for a little bit. Do you want me to put in the Aristocats DVD in the living room? Maybe you can lay down with Diddy?" she smiled as she gently tugged on the stuffed animal's leg and playfully tickled her son's hip. The little boy squealed and giggled as he squirmed on his mother's lap.

Kissing the top of his bald head, she stood up and balanced the frail toddler on her hip one hand rubbing his back as he laid his head in the crook of her neck. Her voice once again low, she announced, "I'll be right back."

The sound of Mrs. Matterson's footsteps were decreasing in volume and when silence surrounded them in the kitchen, none of them were sure how to react to the little boy. Side by side, they're just looking at their glasses, their hands cupped around the drinks, lost in their thoughts.

"I was not expecting that. Poor kid; breaks my heart," said Castle, breaking the silence.

"I can't-" she starts, a lump in her throat making it hard to continue.

_This must be what they meant by hormones. Damn hormones. Kate Beckett, you used to be a hard ass._

"I can't imagine ever having to go through that. It must be a special kind of hell," she manages to say as her hand hovers over her still flat stomach.

"Kate, we're not going to." He turns towards her with his hand toppling hers.

"How do you know?"

"Kate the baby is going to be fine, no need to worry." He says as he gently places his hand on her thigh.

"Please, Castle, don't," she added as tears glistened underneath her eyelids.

_Hell, I'm crying now. Really?_

He leaned forward gently kissing her forehead, and as he pulled back, Sandra Matterson entered the kitchen. Castle and Beckett straightened their posture on their chairs.

"I know, my son can have that effect on people."

"Is your son going to be okay?" asked the writer and he gently squeezed her thigh. She's happy he asked.

"Victor's got brain cancer. He isn't event 4 and he's already had surgery and 2 rounds of chemotherapy. He seems to be doing good though. I'm hoping he won't need a bone marrow transplant since I'm not a match and it can be really hard to get a donor."

"And his father?" blurred out Castle, which owed him a kick in the chins. "Owe!"

"It's fine. He died when Victor was 18 months old, cancer. Now that we know a little bit more about each other, detective, may I finally know what this visit is regarding to?"

"We're here about Jeremy Talbot." She said, then lowering her voice afraid the boy might hear she states, "He was murdered 3 days ago."

Her hand was over her mouth, her eyes were wide and breathing erratic. Her jaw was dropping and ascending as if she wanted to say something but just couldn't blur it out.

"So I guess you knew him, right?"

"Yeah, I knew him. We were working on something together. I sent letters everywhere, demands to everyone. Jeremy was the only one to answer. I know he was only still an intern, but it gave me hope, you know, that somehow truth would prevail. How… How did this happen?" she asked and it was possible to see the glimmer of the tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

"He was beaten to death on Wednesday night," answered Beckett factually.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. I saw him on Wednesday." She jumped up, her hand running through her short hair. The detective could tell the emotion was genuine, but she could also sense the woman was hiding something.

"Why did he drive up here on Wednesday, Ms. Matterson? Were you guys…" she went on.

"No. Absolutely not. He had a girlfriend, if I recall."

"He didn't anymore," added Castle lifting an eyebrow.

Sandra shot him a look, "Well we weren't. He drove here to show me the progress he was making in the case. He could have called, but I also think he liked hanging out with Victor and Victor liked to hang around him so…"

"What were you guys working on Ms. Matterson?"

"Sandra, please. I'm sorry. I assumed you knew the details. He had a pretty thick file with him when he left on Wednesday. All his notes, all his research. He thought if he collected enough evidence, he could change his boss's mind and they would take the case. But I really shouldn't be talking about it."

"Why not? Were you threatened?"

"Something like that. Look, my son, I'm all he has left. And with Jeremy… you know… dead. I'm not taking any chances."

The detective nodded, but she really wanted to hear what the woman had to say, "Off the records? No one will ever know, I promise."

"You sure?" asked Sandra still uneasy.

"Not a soul, I promise."

"I used to work for the city. A little less than a year ago I stumbled across some papers. They were sample tests they had been doing on the city's main water line. I don't think I was meant for these papers, but they somehow managed to hit my desk. I couldn't really understand what anything meant. I mean, I'm not a chemist, I'm a glorified secretary, but no one could miss the bold print at the end of the report mentioning high levels of TCE."

Beckett and Castle exchanged a confused look.

"Yeah, I didn't know what it was either, so I investigated. Internet, library books… TCE is highly carcinogenic and people are drinking it. I was drinking it. My son was drinking it. Everyone I love has been drinking it for years. You look around every one is afflicted with their personal cancer hell. I tried to confront the city, the mayor, about it but everyone I talked to acted like the file didn't exist and when I searched for it, it seemed like it didn't."

"Why would you prosecute..." she asked looking through her notes, "GRSB?"

"GRSB Technologies is the only plant for miles that could account for this type of damage. They have been using TFE as a by-product and the residuals must have been dumped somehow. And from the looks of things, they have been doing it for years."

"Why has nobody else stepped forward?"

"In this economy? The company hires 80% of the town's population; of course no one is going to come forward. No one has the time, money, energy or even courage to fight with a beast that big."

"One last question and we'll be out of your hair. At what time did Jeremy leave your place on Wednesday?"

"I'd say a little before 1, I had doctor's appointment with Victor in the afternoon."

"Thank you Sandra, if you think of anything else, could you give me call? Off the books…"

The mother takes the card from her hands and nodded uncertainly.

* * *

Castle convinced Beckett to stop for lunch before heading back to the city. It really helped his case that the receipt for the diner in the village that Esposito and Ryan had found in the victim's car was time stamped a little after 2pm. This meant Jeremy had stopped there after leaving Sandra's house and Beckett was hoping the staff would remember him. After a quick call with Ryan to let them in on their progress, they sat down in a corner booth at _Chez Riri_.

Kate saw the young waitress approaching their table with the menus. Pulling out the picture, the detective asked, "I'm sorry Miss, could you tell me if you recognize this man?"

Letting the photo slide on the table she observed it before answering, "I'm not sure. He's not from around here, that I can tell. One sec." The waitress turned her head and lets out a loud, "Hey Carole, you come here a sec?"

An older looking woman wearing an apron and carrying two portions of pie in her right hand came to their table, and the first woman asked, "Do you recognize the guy on the picture?"

"I remember him, he's the guy who met up with Mr. Deering this week. They were sitting right there," she answered pointing to a table to their left.

"That's what I thought too," added the younger waitress.

"Who's Mr. Deering?" Castle asked.

"He's the CEO of GRSB Technologies. He doesn't come into the village very often and we don't get many tourists. Pretty memorable sitting."

"Do you know what they were talking about?"

"Not really. They would stop talking whenever I got close, but they didn't look like old friends catching up, if you know what I mean."

"Thanks for your help."

After their meal, walking towards the car Beckett shivered, "Castle, you have no idea how much I want to nail these sons of bitches. The hatred echoes right through my bones."

* * *

They were back at the precinct after the long car ride back to the city. Kate directed herself towards Esposito's desk and sat down on it, her legs dangling in mid-air.

"So Espo, what did you guys find out about the break-in?"

"One of the neighbors saw a man he didn't recognize hurrying down the stairs. Sketch is on the board," he answered as he pointed to the drawing.

Both Beckett and Castle directed themselves to the front of the board, and Castle's eye twitched as he saw the man in the picture, he could swear he knew the guy, "Looks familiar, no?"

Beckett shrugged her shoulders and turned away back to the other detective's desk, "Do you have an ID?"

Ryan, entering the room, answered, "No ID on the man. I asked the parents and the roommates if they recognized him and it was a negative on all counts. I found out from his parents though, Jeremy had a kid sister who died of leukemia when she was 6, he was 11. Probably explains why he got so invested in that case."

Beckett nodded at the information. Castle, still observing attentively the board beamed out, "It's him, Beckett. It's the guy from the coffee shop."

"What guy?" asked Ryan.

"There was this jack hole that bumped into Beckett when we went to the café to interview the ex-girlfriend."

* * *

**Comments? Ideas? Complaints?**

**Before I write the next chapter I need to choose between two endings I mapped out ... so any thoughts would be helpful :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the HUGE delay guys. But anyone in Engineering will understand how finals can kick the crap out of you, but I'm back!**

**Hope you're still following and if you are well, enjoy!**

* * *

Much to the detective's dismay, she would have to wait until the morning to continue the investigation. The day had brought her two new suspects. As troubling as this day had been, she couldn't argue with the results, the day had been fruitful. There was a corrupt mayor hiding vital information, a CEO caught in a heated argument with her victim hours before his murder, an unidentified man who seemed to pop up randomly in her investigation and a grieving mother receiving death threats.

The afternoon was well into its prime and there was no way she would be able to convince either a small town Mayor or a powerful CEO to come down to the precinct today, when it was so close to five. Her case was only circumstantial, she knew it, and their overpriced lawyers surely would too. She needed some hard evidence, soon. Tomorrow would have to do. She would be interviewing them both in the morning.

The guys and Castle had tried identifying the man in the sketch for the remainder of the afternoon with very little success while she had assembled all the information she could on her prime suspects. They had all called it a night and headed home _somewhat early_.

As much as she tried to deny it, Castle's conspiracy theory seemed more and more credible, which probably was the cause of the uneasy feeling she'd been battling with. Maybe it was also the fact that they had argued. Maybe it was the fact, that she wasn't even sure who had been right anymore.

* * *

Castle had brought her to a secluded office and closed the door and blinds. Turning to face her, he started, conviction in his tone, "Kate, if this case gets to be too much. I want you to step down."

"Castle…" she trailed off, not certain how to answer, but she was calm. Her hand was searching for his.

"Look Kate, you and I both know the man sketched on your murder board is a hit man and-"

"We don't-" she quickly interrupted.

"Let me finish dammit." He snapped. He so rarely snapped at her. Her eyes widened and she plucked her lips together.

He continued, mostly indifferent to the tremble in her bottom lip.

"I don't want you to get hurt. He bumped into you yesterday. At the time we thought it was an accident, and for a while I thought he was scrambling away because we almost caught him doing… whatever, but you didn't see the threat in his eyes. The more I picture it my mind, the more certain I become. It was no accident. It was a warning and if it gets too dangerous, I want you to step down." The lines in his face illustrated how serious he was, how stressed out he felt.

"We both know my job is dangerous Castle, always has been, always will be. But you know I'm careful. I'm better at it than I was all those years ago. I take calculated risks. I can take care of myself, Rick." She took his hand in hers, gently stroking it with her thumb, hoping her words were soothing enough.

"Kate, you know why it's different now."

"I know babe. I know, but you know I don't give up. It's just not how I do things. But I promise to be extra careful now."

_When have I become the composed one in the relationship?_

"People are dead."

She sighed, "It's my line of work. They're always dead. I'm the one who fights for them, remember?"

"But-"

"What about that 3 year old who's dying of cancer because everyone just cowarded out? There's a toddler, a baby still, battling for his life every day because people gave up on a fight. A 24 year old kid. You know that's almost Alexis' age right? Died trying to bring him justice. And you want me to step down. Do you think any of that's fair Castle?"

"It's not what I said, if it gets dangerous, I demand-"

"You demand? Really Castle? Demand?" she screamed, not so in control anymore. "It's already dangerous! Living in freakin' New York City is dangerous! You want this city safer for your kids, let me do my damn job."

She turned around to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist, bringing her closer in his arms, tightening his grip around her. She mumbled, he face pressed in his chest, "I don't back down."

"I know you don't, Kate." He answered, a hint of resignation in his voice and he kissed the top of her head. She didn't give up, and that was probably what worried him the most. He whispered in her ear, "You know I worry because I love you, right? Both of you. So much already."

They could talk about this later. Right now he just wanted to hold on.

* * *

Kate, fresh out of a shower, her wet hair in a messy bun joined her husband in the kitchen. She was sporting boxer shorts and a loose T-shirt. It was barely 7 and she was in her PJs, but she didn't care.

He turned his head towards her, his hands fully occupied by the various pots and pans simmering over the stove. "Hey," he let out with a faint smile.

She lightly kissed her husband's cheek, letting her fingers linger, slowly trailing the bare skin under his shirt just over his waistband. She smirked as she felt him shiver under her touch, his eyes talking, but his mouth closed shut. It was so unlike him and she was afraid it was left over tension from their earlier fight. They had made up at the precinct and when they had gotten home, shed their clothes as if every word was forgotten_, _but she knew they had to finish their conversation, didn't mean she wanted to.

She glided towards the fridge and poured herself a glass of mineral water before sitting down on a stool at the island. She sipped her drink and she watched her husband prepare diner. She loved to watch him cook. He was so passionate, like with everything he did. It was one of the things she loved the most about him. How everything seemed, _was_ extraordinary.

"So _princess_, you just going to stare, or are you going to help?" He asked teasingly with his back towards her, still whisking his creamy concoction.

_Yup, that's more like it._

The nickname made her roll her eyes with a smile. "I was just going to stare, but if you insist, I'll work. _Like a mere peasant_." She answered, dramatically puffing, Castle-Rodgers style. She placed her glass on the counter and walked around it. "Your kitchen hand has arrived, my _Knight_" She answered smirking at her innuendo as she bowed towards him.

He moved his pot way from the hot burner of the stove before answering, "Ouuu, role play, I like it." and a hand on her waist, he pulled her closer into him.

"Should have known this was the kind of help you wanted," she answered, their lips barely touching. He grinned as his lips came in contact with hers, his tongue seeking entrance.

The oven timer rang, and Rick growled as he broke the contact with his wife. He took out the chicken from the oven, but when he turned back to resume, he found Kate no longer where he had left her, but cutting up some red peppers for a salad. He joined her side and gently bumps her shoulder.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." She answered her eyes still on the knife she was expertly handling.

His hand hovers over the knife and sets it down, so she can look at him when they talk. He hates when she avoids his stare because, he can usually understand way more with her eyes than just her words.

"What happened today?" he simply stated as she joined her hands together at the back of his neck. His hands were resting on her hips, their eyes locked in each other's.

"I don't know. We were both on edge. Said some things. You snapped, I screamed. No biggie."

"I don't regret anything I said Kate."

She arched an eyebrow in his direction, "Really?"

"Okay, maybe the _demanding_ part, but I really just want to you to be safe."

"Do you not trust my judgement? Babe, what makes you think I wouldn't do everything in my power to be safe?" she asked as her fingers played in his hair.

"Because sometimes, it's out of your control. Sometimes, there is nothing more you could have done. And sometimes, there's something I could have said to prevent it all."

She continued watching him, thinking this must be one of the very few times she's seen him on the verge of tears. Her hands cupping the back of his head, she kissed him tenderly and understanding. When they break apart, their foreheads adjoined, she could feel it. The thought he desperately wanted to let out. He was holding back and she hoped her silence would be enough to make him spill. After what felt like hours of just looking at each other, it finally did.

"I just don't want you to act like the fact that you're pregnant doesn't change anything and…" he sighed "maybe I snapped because… somewhere deep down, I feel like the reason you won't tell anybody is…"

"No Babe, no. Maybe it just doesn't feel real yet. You feel things right away, but for me it takes more time. But Castle I love this baby already, _our baby_, and I don't want to tell anybody yet, because it's still early and things can go so horribly wrong and I just don't think I could handle it if everybody knew, and then..."

"Nothing else?"

"There is nothing else. But this case, Castle, I need to see it through. For the parents grieving their son. For little boy and his mother. For justice. For the truth. "

He nods tentatively.

"You have got to put that imagination of yours in check," she added as she kissed her husband and she felt his lips curl up into a smile beneath hers. "Maybe I should schedule an appointment with my OB, put both our minds a little at ease. We're both hormonal messes right now, aren't we?"

He chuckled as he beamed out, "We really are." and he kissed her temple gently.

* * *

It was late and Castle had been in his office writing for a couple of hours now. He wasn't writing his latest installment of Nikki and Rook, although with his deadline so close, maybe he should really think about starting it soon. He didn't even feel remorseful though. He had been writing for her. For the woman who shared his bed, shared his home, his life. For the woman who loved the words long before she loved the man.

Maybe it had started out, out of guilt for doubting her, or for having snapped at her, but it was now so much more. Though his eyes were starting to see black dots, he had been staring at his screen way too long, he was proud of his work. He pressed print and hurried to the bedroom smiling at his luck that she wasn't already in bed. He stuffed the pages in an envelope and carefully placed it on her pillow.

"Kate, come to bed! There is something I want to show you!" he yelled to his wife from the confinement of their bedroom.

"Just give me a minute!" she yelled back from the living room.

He decided to take the minute to brush his teeth and prepare for bed. Then, tired of waiting around like an idiot in bed for what had been a lot more than a minute, he decided to see what has been keeping her from him.

When he entered the living room, she's perched over a file scattered about on the coffee table. Her pen is in her mouth as she shuffled through a bunch of papers with both hands.

"You leave me waiting, for work? I thought we weren't doing that anymore?" he asked, but his voice was calm. He falls on the couch beside her, his hand messing with the short hairs on her neck that wouldn't fit in her high bun and he kissed the crook of her neck. She squirms at the ticklish sensation the tips of his fingers cause and shakes his hand away.

"I just wanted to get a head start. I want to be prepared for this interrogation tomorrow, don't want to get blindsided by anything."

"You need to distance yourself from this case, Beckett."

"What? Why?"

He stumbled for words.

_Are we really having the same conversation for the third time?_

"Well… It's just, it's been a while since I've seen you so… hum… _invested_. Maybe you should just sleep on it."

_Good job, man. Different approach._

"Castle, it's my job. I told you. I need to see this one through. I just do. It's an interview nothing dangerous." She smiled, angling her head to the side.

"I know. But, we leave work at work. We had this conversation already, months ago..."

"I just don't want this investigation to be botched. I want it closed and final. The people involved stopped before it gets even worse."

He finally gets it, why this case has put her in such turmoil. He isn't even sure she gets it yet.

"I'm sure you will."

He got up from the couch and stared lovingly at her, his wife, his _Kate. _Their eyes met and she smiled, holding up his hand towards him.

They trust each other and for Castle, right now, that's enough.

* * *

Thoughts? Be brutally honest.


	11. Chapter 10

She could see his teeth through the smile he was giving her, so rare for him to smile this way. His eyes were pleading and forgiving all at once. Her husband, the man she loved, who wanted to take her to the bedroom. Who was she to deny him that? Most importantly, did she really want to miss out on it?

She glanced at the papers on the coffee table and the second of hesitation in her movement, had his heart skip a beat. She could perceive the change, the nervousness in his expression tiptoeing around her. She hated the fact that they were so bad at this, always afraid to say the wrong thing, do the thing that would send the other running in the other direction. You'd think marriage would be enough, but still, they were crappy when it came to communication. She thought everything had been aired out during their previous discussions, but maybe, he was still holding stuff back. The case had her in a puddle of mush she couldn't fully comprehend, sure, but it was no reason to bring him down with her. He needed this, her full attention, full commitment, and she needed him to know this job was only that, a job.

Her hand in his, he lifted her from the couch with an easy flex of his bicep and she flew onto his chest letting out a "Humph". She giggled into his chest, so very un-Beckett like and he kissed the top of her head. His strong hands were holding her in a tight embrace and savoring the moment, she stayed there, buried in his chest. She lifted her chin up, got on the top of her toes and slowly kissed the side of his jaw. "Let's get to bed, Mr. Castle."

The lips still on the stubble of his jaw sensed his muscles contract into a smile. His hand tugged her towards the bedroom, excited, almost running. A few feet away from the agape door he slowed, almost stopped as the image of the envelope came back to his mind. He was suddenly feeling nervous. What had he done? Why had he written it? More importantly, why had he printed it? There was nothing he could do to take it back even though he desperately wanted to. She would see it. She would understand it and he was sorry for that.

Richard Castle was not self-conscious when it came to his writing, but the women at his side could tear his heart with a flicker of her eyes. He suddenly wasn't the arrogant writer who _never _lost at Scrabble. Richard Castle wasn't needy, but suddenly he was an insecure little boy searching for approval. This one though, this story, it made him nervous. It wasn't the innocent tale he had intended it to be, it was the extension of his being he was afraid to let her see.

She continued her walk towards the bedroom completely unaffected by the fact that she was now the one pulling him towards their room. Heading towards the bathroom, her eyes caught glimpse of the intruder atop her pillow. Turning her head towards her husband with a playful smile, she redirected her body towards the bed. His heart sank a little more. She stopped at the side of the bed and picked it up with a twinkle in her eyes, "Babe, what's this?" she asked. She hopped on the bed and sat on her knees reaching a hand for him who was leaning on the doorframe, his body stiff with worry.

He took a slow step towards her and took a long breath. He smiled to hide his nervousness, but she wasn't dupe. He watched as she took the envelope to her face and breathed in its sent. It startled him and he laughed, breaking the tension that had been building inside him.

She took his hand and pulled him on the bed, happy to see him relax. "I love the way your words smell."

He laughed again, light-hearted, "Kate, you're being ridiculous. Just read it, would you?"

She tore the envelope open and carefully retrieved and unfolded the pages. Her eyes carefully trailing the words printed out for her. He observed her: her lips plucking, the faint smile on her face, the way she bit the inside of her bottom lip as her eyes watered, the way she looked at him every few seconds as she carried on reading.

"Rick… It's really beautiful, it is, but..." she went as she placed the short story on the nightstand.

"I know. It didn't start out that way. I'm sorry. I don't know what possessed me to right this. I guess there were still some things I just needed to let out." He answered sheepishly.

Kate rotates so they're facing each other, letting her fingers trail the side of his cheek. "We really suck at this, don't we?"

He looked at her and laughed nervously.

"You're using this story to tell me you aren't okay with the way I've been acting lately. You think I'm too invested in work, that I don't see it. Castle, I need you to be able to tell me these things."

"Words and paper has always worked for me. I know we talked about it today and I really want to trust you, I really do. I know you're not the same cop you are when I met you it's just…"

"I get it. You're protective. Same as you are with Alexis, same as you are with me, except now, there's more than me, and I get that. It's just I don't know what else to say for you to trust that I can do that. Be a cop and be pregnant, be a mom."

"I do trust you. It's the rest of New York I don't trust."

"And this case, Rick of course it's important. They always are. I'm not the kind of cop that looks at numbers and closure rates. They're people, every single one of them, and I care about them, but not as much as I care about you, about our family. Maybe this case is different, maybe it reminds me of my mother's case. No, it definitely reminds me of my mother's case. I know it's what scares you even more. I keep thinking if the detective working her case hadn't botched his job, many lives would have been saved and I don't want to be that person. I promised myself I wouldn't. These, they're _my _demons. You need to have faith that I can handle it, handle them."

"You _are_ kind of bad-ass."

"I know you like to worry Castle, but you need to trust me, with my job and the tiny human inside me."

"I do."

She rotated and settled her legs over his thighs. She crept up beside him wiggled under his arm so that her head was nested just over his sternum. Nested in his arms, she mumbled, "Thank you for pushing the issue, Rick."

They cuddle like this in silence as his hand stroke her bare thigh, but he could tell she was elsewhere. Not sleeping just pensive.

"It's killing you right now, isn't it?" he asked.

"What?" she asked as their bodies lost contact.

"The case. You're still thinking about it aren't you?"

"No Castle, I'm-"

"Beckett, I'm really fine with it. I trust you. Plus, if I concentrate," He exaggerated closing his eyes. The way he did it reminded her of the time traveling Chinese in the superhero show he had made her watch and made her laugh. He added, "I think I can actually hear your little hamster running in there."

She playfully slapped his chest and rolled her eyes, "You're such a Doofus sometimes, Castle,"

"But you love me."

"But I love you." She leaned in and kissed him slowly.

When they finally broke apart and their eyes met again, Castle could see it in her expression, "You really want to pick my brain about the case right now, do you?"

"No Castle, we don't have to do this. We'll do this tomorrow at the precinct." She let her head lean back on his chest. "We agreed no shop talk in bed."

"Beckett, I want to do this, now. How about we move this party to the floor then?" he asked playfully serious.

She smiled. Placed a chaste kiss on his lips and ran to the door. She came back seconds later, the file in hand, and found him sitting on the floor.

She smirked. "We're actually doing this on the floor?"

He stated seriously, "No detective-_ing_ in bed." He paused and wiggled his eyebrows, "Unless it's role play." He paused again, shooting her a dirty look, "Or you brought your cuffs."

She rolled her eyes and put the file on the floor, "Okay. I'll recap for you. Tell me what you think."

She opened the file and started turning the pages of her notebook until she came across some fresh paper. She tugged on the pen atop her ear and started scribbling, "Timeline. Wednesday morning around ten, the roommate hears Jeremy leaving the apartment. Since it's approximately an hour drive to Concord Valley and he was with Mrs. Matterson from about 11:20 to 12:40, we can assume he didn't stop anywhere. He leaves Ms. Matterson's and heads to the Diner which was about what?"

"I'd say not even 5 minute drive."

"Right. So, he meets with Mr. Deering at the Diner where they argue. He leaves around 2:00. He's at the bar around 4:30."

"So we have an hour and a half that's unaccounted for," he stated.

"Maybe he hit some traffic getting back into the city?" she continued without any conviction.

"An hour and a half's worth?" he inquired skeptically as got up and retrieved the IPad resting on the nightstand. He tapped in his password and furrowed his brow as he searched on the net.

Kate huddled closer, getting behind him. She passed her arms around his neck and laid her chin on his shoulder so she'd have a better view of the screen. "So?"

"Nah, there's no news of an accident or important congestions of any major arteries for Wednesday evening. He wasn't stuck in traffic for an hour and a half. Normal mid-day traffic would be what? Half an hour?"

She nodded, satisfied.

"The car wasn't at the scene, did they find any prints?" he asked her.

"No, wiped clean." She answered as she pulled the CSU report and handing it to him.

"So this suggests someone that knew what they were doing."

"You thinking it's Sketch-Man?"

"Would be my guess. Neither a mayor nor a CEO would get their hands dirty for this. We checked this afternoon, no employee of the City or GSRB matched the sketch. We even cross-referenced the 3200 male habitants of Concord Valley just to be sure, no match. We have no idea who he is."

"Castle, this makes me think. Why would the multi-millionaire CEO accept to meet with a scrawny law intern for lunch?"

Castle thought about it for a minute, "The vic must have had something on him. Leverage."

"But what?"

"No idea." He paused to think, before continuing. "So Jeremy confronts Simon Deering at the diner. Next thing we know, he's dead. Coincidence?"

"You know how I hate coincidences, Castle."

"I do. The murder happened within a few hours, that means there was not a lot of planning time."

"So whatever happened went down fast, really fast." She nodded, clearly excited by the direction this was taking. "We need to subpoena his cellphone records be-"

"cause whatever Jeremy had over Deering scared him enough he-"

"he had to call his _cleaner_," she finished.

"Since it happened so fast, Deering probably didn't have the time to cover his tracks that well."

"He calls in a professional. What-"

"It didn't look like a professional hit. One bullet, done and cared for, the-"

"He was beaten to death, tortured. They wanted to make him-"

"Tell him where whatever he was holding over their head was hidden. Do you think he told them?"

"The vic's apartment was ransacked on what was it…." She searched through her notes, turning the pages of her notebook. "Friday morning. My guess is they're still looking for it."

"So we basically need a what and where." He stated perplexed.

"We need to know what happened during the hour and half that's not accounted for."

"Traffic cam or surveillance video?" he tried.

"It's worth a shot," she grabbed her phone and when the time flashed before her she put it back down. "I'll put a request in first thing in the morning for the 3 blocks surrounding our crime scene. I'll also see if I can put a rush for the cell phone records." She got up picked up the case file and heading out of the bedroom, she turned on her heals and double backed bending down and giving him a chaste kiss. "Thank you for this, I really needed it. I love you, Richard Castle."

* * *

"Two witnesses saw you arguing with the victim, a couple of hours before he was killed." Right at this instant, Kate Beckett was using all the self-control she had not to punch her smug suspect. She needed to drag it out of him.

"Yeah. We both wanted to pay the bill, it got a little heated." He answered, acting like this was all a joke.

"Why were you meeting?" she continued sternly.

"Just kind of ran into each other, decided to share lunch. He was a nice enough guy."

She nodded. It was her turn to play. She took the sketch from in front of her and turned it over to Simon Deering, "Do you recognise this man?"

He shrugged while pretending to look at the sketch that slid on the table. "Nope, sorry. Doesn't seem familiar."

"Sure he doesn't."

"I'm sorry, what was that detective?" asked the lawyer.

"Nothing." She then presumed to stare at Mr. Deering, "It's just that your man is getting sloppy. He's been popping up, all over in my investigation."

"Detective Beckett, my client has already informed you. He does not know the man." Interjected the lawyer.

She didn't even take the time to look into his direction, she continued, "Are you sure you don't want to revise your statement Mr. Deering?"

The eye contact was broken as the lawyer and CEO shared a short look.

She tried not smile as she continued, "Because at 2:05, you called his burner phone. Then at 2:14 you called a payphone and talked to the person on the other end for a full 9 minutes. Right now, you're probably wondering what the man and that payphone have in common."

She took another picture from the file and handed it to Simon. "You mind reading the time stamp on this picture Mr. Deering."

He looked at his lawyer who shrugged his shoulders.

"2:17 PM"

"Look carefully at the picture now. Does he look familiar, now? You want to help yourself Mr. Deering, I'm going to need a na-."

"Mr. Deering, is done answering any more questions, Detective Beckett. Now if you want-" the lawyer stated as he motioned his client to get up with him.

"Yeah, I know. Press charges. This ain't my first rodeo, Mr. Yates. Consider it done. How about obstruction of justice? Nah, too soft. Conspiracy to commit murder? Fraud? I have my pick. Mr. Deering, I'll be seeing you soon." She smiled as she watched them both exit the room.

Beckett turned to her partner as she got up, "Nice call on the phone records and the security cams by the way."

"Are you going to press charges?" he asked as he followed her out.

"I don't think I have enough for that. _Yet._ Now Thompson, I'm going to make him wet himself." With that she entered Interrogation 2.

* * *

**Thoughts?**

**As you can see, case is close to being over. Just wanted to know what you guys thought should happen once the case is closed? More cases? Radomn Fluff? Epilogue? Please tell me :)**


	12. Chapter 11

It had been five days, five days since the interview that had changed the case, the interview that had given them the story, the facts and the evidence. It had been five exhausting and packed days and it was finally over. The case that had gotten her in a puddle, the case that had reminded her of her mother's. The case was closed and she couldn't help but feel satisfied.

It had been a quiet morning and she had managed to finish just in time, despite Castle hovering over her while she worked. She put down her pen and popped her head up to see her husband coming back into the bullpen, his coat now on and her bag and coat in hand. He sat back down on his chair next to her desk and asked, "You ready to go?"

She closed the sleeve and picked up the thick file as she got up, "Yup, just give me a second." He smiled and nodded, watching her heading into Gates' office. He looked down at his watch; they still had time to spare.

Beckett stopped at the entrance and knocked on the door. She peeked her head in discreetly. Gates smiled and motioned her to come in with a gesture of the hand as she finished up on the phone. Beckett sat down in the chair in front of the desk and waited for her captain to hang up.

"Sir, we're heading off. I just wanted to drop of my case file. I just finished the paperwork. The case is closed."

"Thank you. Good job, detective."

"Thank you, sir, but I didn't do much. Jeremy did most of the work. I just recovered his work."

"Detective, you did good. This case was a lot to juggle, with the media getting a hold of the story and the hype that it provoked nationally. The way you handled everything, you made me proud. You managed to get justice for the victim, or victims in this case and that's the most important."

Kate blushed a little. The case had brought her to the limelight once again and as much as she hated the attention, it was good to be known for something other than Nikki Heat, naked on the cover every book she starred in. The government had issued a warning against certain water supplies in Concorde Valley. When GSRB Technologies declared bankruptcy the following day, the media storm had started, always on the lookout for a good scandal.

Everything had gone really fast after her interview with the mayor. Thompson hadn't been easy to break, but it had been easier than she had initially thought. Once she had managed to pull out the information from him, everything seemed to fall in its place. The name, a name had been all she had needed to solve the case and bring justice to a whole village. Expertly she had gotten out of him the name of the 'private consultant' Deering had been dealing with. It hadn't been long after that, that the three men started pointing fingers at each other, incriminating themselves even more in the process.

In a day's time they had identified the sketch, recovered the files and pressed charges on three men. The man in the sketch was identified a Christopher Hummel and he had the motive and opportunity to kill Jeremy Talbot. He was going down for murder one, she was convinced of it. Mr. Ruiz had been ecstatic when the detective and her partner had entered his bar again, very eager to help. He swore he saw Hummel, whom he managed to identify in the line-up, exiting his bar a couple of minutes after Jeremy. That was enough to place him at the scene. Once the arrest made, they had searched his place and they had come across the file Jeremy had been compiling. The file had been her goldmine. Deering would be going down for conspiracy to commit murder, intimidation and fraud as for Thompson.

Kate took the file and put it on her Captain's desk. She was confident. She had turned over every rock and her investigation had been thorough, there was no way they would be slipping away anytime soon. Her case was solid and gave her the sense of closure. She hoped it did for Mrs. Matterson and her boy too.

She had managed to get justice. She did. Beckett smiled thinking about the little boy. Nodding her head in Gate's direction, she headed to the door.

"And detective?" the Captain called out which had Kate stop in her tracks to turn around to face her.

"I hope you'll get good news."

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Beckett, trying not stumble on her words.

Gates smiled knowingly and sighed, "Mr. Castle is never here on paperwork day, yet today he's here, and I haven't heard him complaining. _Much._ You, Detective Beckett, have a mid-day appointment, one that requires his presence. Pair to that the fact that my decaf seems to be disappearing fairly quickly, I'd say my assumption isn't far off. I used to be a detective too, you know."

Beckett looked at her boss bewildered. She laughed a little uncomfortably "Humm…Yeah. Thank you, sir."

"I hope you understand I'll need to know the result, right?"

"Yes sir. You will," answered Beckett smiling.

"I'm happy for you two, detective. Now go," Gates started. She turned her head and looked into the bullpen through her window and laughed, "Mr. Castle is looking very antsy."

Beckett looked through the window and watched her husband pace back and forth beside her desk. She joined Gates in with her laugh. When their eyes caught each other's, Castle's eyes widened as he pointed at his watch.

"I'd better go. Have a nice day, sir."

* * *

She was tapping her foot uncontrollably. He had his hand resting on her thigh trying to calm the incessant movement of her lower body. The waiting room was quiet but she had lost interest in the book she was pretending to read, a while back. Their appointment was scheduled 15 minutes ago and he could feel her getting restless. He had had to pull her down when she had tried to go ask the secretary what was taking so long, for the third time.

He squeezed her thigh, "Kate, relax."

She smiled and put her hand over his, squeezing it gently, "I know. I just hate waiting."

"I got that," he added with a laugh.

The both stopped talking when a short, plump nurse in scrubs arrived and called out, "Ms. Castle?" Quickly, they both got up, their hands still clenched together.

"Dr. Jenkins is ready for you."

* * *

Thoughts?

I had about 4 rewrites of this chapter and I'm sorry it ended up so short. It was either that or extremely long. I had a hard time and finally decided to really condense the end of the case, hope it doesn't feel too rushed.

I have decided to cut my stories up into cases. So the continuity to this one, will be uploaded very soon but in a new story! (it's the up-side to having stalled on this chapter, I have 3 almost done for the next!)


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